Nike is paying tribute to their legendary 2002 “Secret Tournament” soccer ad campaign with an all new Phantom GT boot.
The original Secret Tournament campaign (also known as Scorpion KO) coincided with the 2002 FIFA World Cup and featured elaborate TV ads that depicted world-class players facing off in one-goal knockout rounds in a metal cage constructed in the hull of a cargo ship. The ads showed teams competing under watch of a ringmaster/judge character, with the final two teams competing sans-cage in a near-200 goal game that ended with the sinking of the ship. The campaign also coincided with real-life Scorpion KO tournaments played across the world with winners receiving promotional Scorpion KO material and prizes.
While the ad was almost 20 years ago, a quick glance at the yearning fans in the YouTube comments of anything surrounding Secret Tournament justifies Nike’s 2020 tribute to the initiative, which takes the form of a special edition Phantom GT. The model is a chrome silver, echoing the original Secret Tournament’s shining soccer ball, featuring bright yellow accents that pay tribute to the industrial and aggressive aesthetic of the original ads. Paint brush style branding echoes the painted-on goals of the Secret Tournament’s final stage, and an updated version of the campaign’s scorpion logo cements it as a worthy tribute.
The Nike Phantom GT Scorpion is set to drop on November 2nd via Nike’s website. You can take a look at the original campaign, as well as pictures of the new model, down below.
